The Thing About Trouble (Crystal Lake 1)

“Goonies.”

She dragged her gaze back up to his face. “Sounds about right.”

He was hard again. So fucking ready to sink deep inside her and hold her close so that he could feel her frantic heartbeat and smell her arousal.

“Are we through asking questions?” Cam stood back, and her eyes fell to the bulge between his legs. She licked her lips and was done for. Did she answer him? Who the hell knew? He slid his hands underneath her T-shirt, and seconds later, she was naked.

With an animalistic growl, he scooped Blue into his arms and headed for his bedroom. It was going to be a long night, and for once, he was perfectly fine with that.

18

Blue was floating on a cloud.

A cloud of lust and desire and warmth and satisfaction. A cloud of contentment and want and quiet moments. She’d never felt like this in her life. Never. What she’d shared with David had been kind and gentle and comforting. But this? This had her humming songs and daydreaming and smiling. It had her thinking things she had no right to be thinking, because all those thoughts had her wondering about tomorrow. Had her pondering the emptiness of her home. The quietness of the rooms. The beauty she didn’t care to enjoy—at least, not alone.

It was a feeling she didn’t want to end, but it was also a feeling that made her nervous as hell.

She and Cam had settled into something. What that something was exactly, the two of them didn’t discuss. They just let it happen. It was the not discussing that tightened her gut at night and made her anxious. That was when she let herself think about it—even then only for fleeting moments. Blue didn’t want to focus on the negative. She much preferred this wave of goodness that rolled in whenever she was with Cam and Tawny.

She was four weeks into whatever the hell this was, and Blue was fine not thinking or wondering, at least until reality hit. She was living in the moment, and today, she was about to make a dream of her own come true.

A lazy kind of autumn had taken hold of Crystal Lake somewhere around the first week of October. It was sweater weather, and Blue loved it. Hair loose and blowing in the wind, dressed in a pale pink cashmere turtleneck, faded jeans tucked into soft brown leather boots, she looked like an advert for LL Bean. It was late afternoon on a Thursday, and Cam had asked her to pick up Tawny from daycare.

She left her car and headed toward a group of parents standing near the entrance. She stopped a few feet away. She saw the curious looks, the whispers behind hands—those, she could handle—but a few of the women stared her down boldly, their eyes and body language telling Blue everything she needed to know. She wasn’t one of them.

One of the women broke from the herd and walked over with a smile. She was tall and curvy, and wore loose-fitting track pants and a hoodie. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail that was falling out, and she was missing her right earring.

“Hi, I’m Susie.” Her voice was husky and as warm as her eyes.

“Blue.”

Susie’s eyes crinkled as her smile widened. “Barnes, right?” At Blue’s stiff nod, she made a face. “Don’t mind them. They’ve all got,” she finger-quoted, “‘small-town-itis.’” Her voice dropped. “It’s highly contagious in some circles, but luckily, I’m immune.”

“Is that what it is?” Blue replied dryly.

“Don’t take it personal. They’re not all bad. They’re just not used to someone who looks like you. And half of them have lusted after Cam Booker for years.” She chuckled. “You’re here for Tawny?”

“Yes. Cam asked me to pick her up.”

“She’s so sweet. My twins Mark and Mitchell are in the same class, but they’re rough and tumble boys, so they don’t really play together. I’ve seen Cam with her. She’s beautiful.”

Blue offered a small smile. Again, her cautious nature prevented her from giving away too much. She was saved by the bell just then and walked forward with Susie. Her boys bounded out in the first rush of kids, full of rambunctious energy, dirty faces, and untied shoes. Susie gathered them to her side and sighed.

“We’re off to hockey practice, so I have to run. But it was nice meeting you. Maybe we can do coffee sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

With a warm wave, Susie disappeared with her twins.

A young woman who looked like a teenager but was obviously the preschool teacher walked out holding Tawny’s hand. When the little girl saw Blue, she broke away and hurtled toward her like a bullet. Her little hands waved back and forth full of artwork, and her face was wide open with joy. That space in Blue’s heart wasn’t so small anymore. It was big and strong and warm. It grabbed hold of her, and she held out her arms to welcome a little girl who had managed to fill it up until she felt nearly whole again.

“Blue! I knew you were coming for me!”

She hugged the little girl tightly and smiled up at the teacher. “I’m Blue. Cam said he would make arrangements for me to pick up?”

The young woman nodded and smiled. “He did. Tawny has been chattering about you all day.”

“Look, I drawed a picture of you.” Tawny wiggled out of her grasp and presented her artwork. She’d used a colorful array of crayons to make a wonderful version of Blue, along with Rufus and Giselle.